Administrative Order
In re: Court Operations, Covid-19
Order No: Admin. 20-07
WHEREAS, the Ho-Chunk Nation General Council delegated judicial authority to the Ho-Chunk Nation Judiciary pursuant to the CONSTITUTION OF THE HO-CHUNK NATION, ART. VII, § 4; and,
WHEREAS, the General Council delegated legislative authority to the Ho-Chunk Nation Legislature pursuant to CONST., ART. V, § 1(a); and,
WHEREAS, the Legislature adopted the Ho-CHUNK NATION JUDICIARY ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATION ACT, pursuant to its constitutional authority as articulated in CONST., ART. V, § 2(a); and,
WHEREAS, “[t]he Judiciary shall have exclusive authority and responsibility to employ personnel and to establish written rules and procedures governing the. . . operation of the courts” pursuant to JUDIcIARY Aci, para. 1 .5c; and,
WHEREAS, the Legislature approved the job description of the Chief Judge pursuant to its constitutional authority as articulated in C0NST., ART. V, § 2(f); and,
23 WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020 the Ho-Chunk Nation Legislature declared a state o
24 emergency, imposing stringent restrictions on employment-related travel. HCN Leg. Res. 03-12
20A at 3-4. Additionally, the Ho-Chunk Nation President declared a state of emergency, als
suspending employment-related travel. HCN Admin. Order Mar. 13, 2020-1.
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Admin. 20-07 Order Re: Court operations and process Page 1 of 4
WHEREAS, the Ho-Chunk Nation Supreme Court has issued In Re Emergency
2 Adoption of Temporary Amendment to the Ho-Chunk Nation Rules of Appellate and Civil
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Procedure emergency orders (ATTACHED); and
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5 WHEREAS, the Ho-Chunk Nation Supreme Court and the Ho-Chunk Nation Trial Courl
6 are monitoring the ongoing situation;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE HO-CHUNK NATIO1
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JUDICIARY ENTERS THE FOLLOWING JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDEP
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EFFECTIVE UPON THE DATE OF SIGNATURE:
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The following orders are emergency, temporary measures and shall remain in effeci
12 until further notice from the Court.
13 The Judiciary hereby informs the public that the Judiciary is remaining operational at thi
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time; all matters on the docket through March 26, 2020 shall be heard; thereafter the court wil
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consider the current conditions and recommendations of the Ho-Chunk Nation concernin
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17 operations. In the event that rescheduling is appropriate, the Clerk of Court or Deputy Clerk o
18 Court will contact the parties.
19 During the week of March 16 and 26, 2020 and thereafter, the court will make ever
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effort to address emergency cases: Emergency Removals of children, Elder Abuse action
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22 seeking protective orders, domestic violence protective orders, and new Child Support cases ii
23 the Ho-Chunk Nation Court.
24 The Court will continue to operate by using telecommuting capacities.
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Wa Ehi Hoci, the Judiciary’s offices are closed to non-essential personnel. This ban
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shall include vendors and non-litigants;
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Admin. 20-07 Order Re: Court operations and process Page 2 of 4
1 The Judiciary shall follow all Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations o
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social distancing during hearings and other interactions at the Courthouse. The Judiciary reserve
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the right to detennine whether a person is essential to a closed hearing. Courthouse bailiffs an
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security personnel shall enforce such measures in an appropriate manner.
6 The Judiciary hereby sets forth the following temporary process for electronic filing,
effective March 18, 2020:
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E-Filing Temporary Process During COVID-19 Pandemic
Effective March 18, 2020
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- All court filings to be sent via e-mail to CourtFilings(aho-chunk.coin (see HCN Rules of
11 Civil Procedure, 3(C) or HNRules ofAppellate Procedure, 7(b)(3).
12 2. No filing fees will be required at this time (see HC’N Rules of Civil Procedure, 3(C) or
13 HCN Rules ofAppellate Procedure, 7(b,(’3).
14 3. Your e-mail should include the following:
15 a. In the subject line please indicate case name, case number and document type.
16 (Example: Smith v. Jones, CV 20-01, Respondent’s Brief)
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(Example: A.B.C., JV 20-01, Status Report)
18 - Clerk of Court-Court Administrator, Mary Thunder, or Deputy Clerk, Margaret Falcon,
will check each hour for filings (during this time these two positions will only have access
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to the e-mail).
20 - Filing will be printed and reviewed by the Clerk of Court.
21 a. If the filing is found to be deficient the filing will be returned with a letter
denoting the deficiency via e-mail.
23 b. Original Deficiency Letter along with a copy of the filing will be sent by US
24 Postal Service.
25 6. The filing will be forwarded to the appropriate clerk to be FILED stamped and processed
26 as normal practice.
27 - Another copy of the filing will be printed, ENDORSED stamp, and sent back to the filing
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party.
Admin. 20-07 Order Re: Court operations and process Page 3 of 4
1 IT IS SO ORDERED this 18th day of March 2020, by the Ho-Chunk Nation Supreme
and Trial Courts located in Black River Falls, WI within the sovereign lands of the Ho-Chun
Nation.
4
EGI HESKEKJET.